Obama’s proposed budget worries Democrats

For the first time in the Obama presidency, the White House’s proposed budget would slow the growth of Medicare and Social Security as part of a strategy to entice Republicans to negotiate on a larger budget deal that would include more tax increases. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports.

Politics

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>today details of
president obama
's budget proposal for the coming year were making the rounds.s they include changes to
social security
and
medicare
. didn't do much to sway republicans. we get more from our chief
white house
correspondent
chuck todd
.

>> reporter: for the first time in the obama presidency a
white house
-proposed budget would slow the growth of
medicare
and
social security
, an idea many democrats call a cut. mindful of this the
white house
tried to soften the blow.

>>not the president's adeal approach to our budget challenges. but it is a serious compromise proposition.

>> reporter: the president will propose smaller
cost of living
to
social security
. it would reduce benefit payments to senior ohs in the future. this idea is part of a deliberate effort to entice republicans back to the negotiating table on a larger budget deal that would include more tax increases. but any changes to
social security
has democrats upset.

>>it's certainly not one that i'm excited about in terms of the chain cpi.

>> reporter: on twitter liberal senator
tom harkin
called the plan an attack on
social security
.

>>democrats invented
social security
and have been protecting it for almost 80 yearses. they shouldn't be leading the charge against it.

>> reporter: but republicans didn't rush to embrace the plan either. speaker boehner writing if the president believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs there is no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes. also noteworthy in the budget $400 million in cuts in
medicare
. a
payroll tax
hike on
high incomemedicare
beneficiaries and a tobacco tax to pay for a universal pre-k program the president touted in the
state of the union
. not surprisingly the most powerful citizen lobby, aarp, are already out with polling data warning any member of congress that supports the change in
social security
will have, well, heck to pay at the
ballot box
in
2014
. so it begins.